Almond Banana Chocolate (ABC) Cake

ABC... Easy as 1 2 3, simple as do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3 baby you and me girl!

Life is always better with chocolate. Life is even better with chocolate in the form of cake. Guilt free cake. Cake that is even healthy for you! Cake that doesn't make you break out if you're sensitive to sugar. Cake that you can eat for breakfast or lunch or midnight snack. Almond banana chocolate cake.

I don't know whether it's because I haven't eaten any sweet food in a while, but this cake really hits the spot. This delicious cake was made for my mum's birthday. I swear I was going to eat just one piece. Nek minnit... Ended up waking up in the middle of night three nights in a row chowing down this cake. Yes I still have self control not to eat the whole cake so it lasted a few days. And what surprised me was the taste of the cake matured over time. On the first night it was actually a bit too dry and you can't really taste any other flavours but chocolate. But second night, the cake miraculously became super moist and you can really get the banana and almond coming through the chocolate with the underlying tone of spices. One thing to add to it if i make this again though is fresh raspberries in the cake itself.

Almond Banana Chocolate (ABC) Cake

Recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

Cake

200 g wholewheat flour

25g unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of desiccated coconut

2 eggs

80 ml olive oil

120 ml honey 

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a cake tin, then dust with cocoa powder. 
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Fold in the desiccated coconut. Set aside. 
3. Beat the eggs until nice and fluffy, then stream in the oil and beat until thick. Add in honey and beat until well combined. Mix in the bananas and mix until just combined. 
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mix in three batches and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. 
5. Bake for approximately half an hour (though check whether your cake is done as all ovens are different. The original recipe called for a 45 minute bake.)
6. Remove cake from oven. Let it cool in the tin for ten minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Ganache

80g dark chocolate

4 tbsp cream

1 tsp vanilla essence

Desiccated coconut

Freeze-dried raspberry

1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and transfer to a clean bowl. 
2. Gently heat up the cream until it's just under boiling. Pour over the dark chocolate. Add in the vanilla essence and stir until chocolate has melted and is completely smooth. 
3. Pour over the cake once it has cooled slightly (so it has thickened up but is still pourable). 
4. Decorate with desiccated coconut and freeze-dried raspberry. 

Banana Berry Cakes (Gluten Free)

Life has been a complete whirlpool these past 6 weeks. The trip to Asia: Malaysia/Hong Kong/China has been eventful to say the least and since touching ground on NZ soil two thursdays ago I've been swept into a nice little storm called Masters. Wow. So, I do apologise for my lengthy absence from the blog, rest assured that I have not forgotten or abandoned it and you dear readers! I've just been trying to sort life out, catch up with friends, organize (still) a schedule for my studies, and *I know this is probably not the best time for it, but I'm super excited, and don't judge!* learn how to knit. 

So, first thing first, trip to Asia. Was a collection of family, food, stories, drama, hellos, goodbyes, laughter, tears, exhaustion, transport, toilets, beds, flights, reminders, hugs, history, future, shopping, learning, life. If I could stuff all my experiences into a ball, it'd be a very colourful and dense ball containing the whole spectrum of colour intermingling with one another. Oh it was rich, yeah. But it was to be expected, our trip back home in 3 years and considering that our last trip was so rushed we didn't have time to meet all the people we wanted to. 

Malaysian heat has been turned up several notches since the last time we were there, causing draught and water rationing! I've always been able to withstand it, but this time, ah it was hot, so very hot. I told everyone that the moment you sit down, your bum starts to sweat. And you constantly feel like showering. AC was your best friend. 

Traffic was as horrendous as ever. People run reds as they please and especially during the Chinese New Year period, a trip down to visit grandma which would normally take 2 hours took us 5. But despite all the difficulties and hardship, seeing the people, my relatives made it all worthwhile. Of course, not being the one driving makes a big difference. My dad was such a champ driving us everywhere. All that patience while driving, he deserves medals. And hugs. 

It's always such an experience when you reunite with someone you haven't seen in years. Especially for us who live so far away, we really do savour every precious little second of it. It really is a cocktail of emotion for us, seeing cousins that we used to play with when we were little and how much they've grown and progressed in life; and also seeing cousins that were babies or weren't even born when we left, all grown up now. I do feel a sense of regret that those cousins we don't have that tight bond with due to our lack of time spent together. But such is our fate in life and we can only do the best we can to build relationships across oceans and nations. 

The trip to China/Hong Kong was definitely a huge eye-opener. China was spacious, vast, neat, clean and orderly, a big contrast to the crowded, fast-paced and very colourful Hong Kong. Like our other visits in Malaysia, we're yet again embraced by the generosity of family and friends who offered their rooms/houses for us during our stay. Things in China weren't cheap, unless you know where to go. I loved their MRT, it was so convenient! Overhead, a female voice reminds people to look after children and respect elderlies, and I was pretty surprised that people actually give up their seats whenever they see someone old board the train. Everything was oversized there, the roads, the buildings, the parks, the malls. I don't think there's anything I can complain about. Except their toilets. Long drops just aren't my thing. And I probably spent record time in this rural toilet, where the walls were only about 1m high and there are no doors. AND... you pee into a drain and 'flush' with a pail of water that sits by the toilet. People HAVE CONVERSATIONS in there. Definitely a one of a kind experience. 

Hong Kong was very fast paced. The escalators go at running speed and even the traffic lights feature running man instead of stationary or walking man. I found that neighbours and people you encounter 'at home' were extremely friendly and hospitable. However if you wanna ask for direction or help on the street to some stranger or bus driver, mean mode is switched on to the max. But it was still such a great experience. I LOVED THEIR EGGTARTS. So damn good. The ones we had were freshly made at this little kitchen by the stall in the wet market and were so cheap! 2.50HK dollar which means about 40 NZ cents each! I wish we'd stayed there longer, just for the egg tarts. The nightlife in HK was amazing. Neon lights flashing, heavy traffic, row after row of shops and stalls selling food, bags, socks, phone accessories, everything! Though since I wasn't used to the crowd, it got a bit tiring at the end of the night trying to meander through the stream after stream of people. 

Now these muffins. I have to admit, I haven't touched the oven in over six weeks until tonight, when I made some fig muffins with my mum with the over-abundance of figs we were given! As I've mentioned, I've sort of hit the ground running ever since we got back, sorting out my postgraduate studies. So this recipe is from the archives, and it was one that I planned to share for a rather special red and green occasion. But, yet again, I was away and busy that period! *No excuse really... I know...* But here it is, special occasion or not, these muffins are rather good. They are super healthy for you, with all the goodness from the almond, bananas, berries, spices and eggs. Really, you are getting your fibre, your vitamins, minerals and your protein from this! And those of you who are gluten intolerant, here's a treat! They are super moist because of the bananas, but drizzling on some honey just makes it go that one step further. Oh and ignore the plums by the way... I was trying to add some colour into the picture... little polka dots of plums, so cute! So try it out, have it with a cuppa. Your morning tea is sorted :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Banana Berry Cake (Gluten Free)

Recipe adapted from At the table with Fee

Makes 12 little cakes

3 cups almond meal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp five spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

1 tbsp blended raw sugar

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup natural yoghurt or soy milk

3 tbsp honey 

3 free range eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cups.

Sift together all the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Stir in the blueberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Divide the batter into the 12 holes. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave in muffin tray to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and cooling on a wire rack.

Strawberry Mochi and Twenty-fourteen New Year's Resolutions!

I feel like the obligatory new year's post is called for. 2014. A new year. A new start. Goodness people, I'm turning twenty-four this year. TWENTY FOUR. That's nearly half-way through my twenties. Yet I feel like besides snapping a few photos and baking a few cakes, I haven't really accomplished much in life. I went out for dinner with a few friends two nights ago, and a friend of a friend has apparently just bought a house. WHAT? Who does that at twenty-three/four? I feel so damn good sitting there haha, barely employed, barely knowing what I'm doing the next day, yet alone what I'm doing for my career!

Anyways, I'm trying not to let that get to me. Everyone has their own lives and their own achievements, albeit how insignificant. Some people take longer to figure out what they want right? It doesn't matter how much money one earns or what job they do. What matters most is that one is content with what they have. Set goals and sure, aim for the stars, but don't forget the little things in life that are important.

~

So, new year's resolution. I usually have an over-crowded list, but this year I think I should keep it simple and achievable.

1. Relationships. Put more effort into nurturing relationships - family, friends, boyfriend, new friends. I'm not naturally good at making friends or just talking to people in general, so I tend to shy away and keep to my comfort zone. I'm also the most lazy person in terms of staying in touch with friends - bad bad very very bad. So, this year it has to change!

2. Health. Diet and exercise! And sleep! I've always had a fairly healthy diet, so the main thing this year is exercise. No more excuses, it's time to get the ball rolling. Sleep better! Though in this day and age sleeping early would counter my first resolution since most people live a night life.... I'll try my best!

3. Career and education. Work my butt off and get a frikin tip top A in my masters! Also, while doing that, maybe get a part time job related to what I'm studying? Food scientist might not be my first choice as a career, but it's related to it, so it's a good place to start!

4. Creativity. Brush up on my photography and baking skills. Keep up with my blogging. I think at least once a week is fair.

5. Spiritual. "Live like you're dying, because you are". In Buddhism, it is said that the most important moment in one's life is death. Death can come anytime and most people are ignorant of that. Every moment of life is lived to prepare for our death and our after life. Live to our fullest, use our time wisely.

~

Now that that's done and dusted, let me tell and show you about the BEST thing about summer, the thing that I look forward to in earnest year after year - BERRY PICKING!! Every year without fail, my family would go berry picking. Well, in particular strawberry or blueberry, we haven't ventured on to other berries yet. Every trip we'd get over-excited and plop too many of those little jewels into our mouths (k, like having too many is possible?) and over-load the trunk of our car with too many container full of them that our ever full fridge is bursting at the seams even more. So, no room for other berries - sad face. But I don't complain! I love staining my fingers blue with the blueberries and red with the strawberries. I love frolicking in the berry bushes, scouting out what I think would be the sweetest and most flavourful bites.

Anywho, this year I went strawberry picking with friends. We got there with the sun shining directly down at us. We didn't have to venture too far into the fields to be stopped by these crimson morsels. The sight of them draws you in and once you're in there's no turning back! Picking and eating and picking and eating, what more can you ask for. I had to exercise self restrain when it came to bringing the berries home though. Only about 1.5kg this year on mum's strict order of no picking too much! Otherwise who knows? I might bring the whole field home.

So, after enjoying loads of fresh, deliciously sweet strawberries, I decided I'd make something of them. I wanted to make something unusual and after flicking through some books I settled on strawberry mochi! Actually.. first I decided to make a normal mochi with strawberry and coconut filling. I chopped the red babies into little pieces, dropped them in a pot with a sprinkle of sugar and cooked until it turned into a sweet bubbly mess. Then I stirred in coconut cream and vanilla essence. The flavours really do pack a punch! I contemplated stopping there and just freezing it to make ice cream. But no, ambitious me took over. I changed my mind and decided to make it a strawberry flavoured mochi skin. So in went the glutinous rice flour, and in went the mixture into a steamer! Now all seems fine until I tasted the mixture. It was too sour. The cooked strawberries with coconut intensified in sourness once it was cooked for some reason. And guys, believe it or not, I spent hours tinkering with that mixture, trying to fix it. First idea (pshhtt more like the gazillionth idea) was to coat the mochi in toasted coconut, since coconut and coconut, it goes? Didn't really work. In the end I had to drive to the nearest Asian mart to buy some peanuts. The nuts got a nice toast, grind and made friends with sesame, sugar and salt. Finally, after filling the strawberry mochi with heap spoonfuls of that, the edge of the sourness was camo-ed, and it actually tasted good! What a way to kickstart the new year baking huh?

Well, some time during that experience it occurred to me that this might be how my 2014 will be spent. Doing masters and a science project will probably require loads of trial and error, repetitions of experiments, tweaking and tinkering. At the end of the day (literally), resilience will pay off!

PS. As I was making up the recipe as I went, the measurements aren't accurate but are more of a guideline.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strawberry mochi with peanut filling (GF)

Makes about 50 mochi

Skin

Two handfuls of fresh strawberries, diced

100ml coconut cream

Splash of vanilla essence

1 cup raw sugar, ground

200g glutinous rice flour, sifted

Pinch of salt

Water

Extra glutinous rice flour, lightly toasted

Filling

300g peanuts, toasted and ground

2 handfuls of sesame seeds, toasted

100g raw sugar, roughly ground (to taste)

1 tsp salt

For the mochi skin, place the strawberries and a handful of sugar into a pot and cook until berries are mushed up (no more lumps of berries). Add in the coconut cream and vanilla. Place mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Prepare your steamer and coat a cake tin (or something that fits in your steamer) with oil. While the water is boiling, finish off the skin by adding sugar, rice flour and salt into the liquid mixture. Mix and knead until well incorporated. Add in the water until you get your desired consistency. The mixture should still have a doughy, moist consistency. Drier and harder mixtures will yield harder mochi, while wetter and more runny mixtures will yield softer mochi. It's personal preference what you like, just add water. 

Once the steamer is ready, transfer the mixture into the oiled tin and steam for about 45 minutes. 

To prepare the filling, just mix everything together until well incorporated.

Once the mochi skin is steamed, let it cool before proceeding. 

Place the extra glutinous rice flour in a wide bowl. Drop about 3/4 tablespoonfuls of mochi skin into the rice flour and roll them around to coat. Coat your hands with rice flour and roll the mochi skin into balls, then flatten them. Place teaspoonfuls of peanut filling in the middle of the skins, then wrap them up in whichever shape you wish. Then coat the wrapped mochi with glutinous rice flour. Repeat until all mochi skin is used up.

Enjoy!

Buckwheat/soba noodles with flat mushrooms and seaweed

Cooking isn't my forte. I'd take baking over cooking any day. BUT. My family's been trying to cut down on eating sweet food lately and mum's complaining that she gained a belly and lots of weight from eating my baked goods! Ah the joys of living with a baker. So, I thought I should venture more into these foreign waters. Start by gingerly dipping my toes in, adjust to the temperature, then slowly wade my way through to the deeper ends. 

I found that cooking is just like swimming. Not that I swim much. In fact, I haven't swum in... 5 years? 7 years? A rare case seeing that I live literally 5 minutes drive from the beach and NZ is so much of a water loving country. I've only learnt to swim when my family moved to NZ, which was about 10 years ago. And ever since those swimming lessons at the YMCA pools in Year 8, I haven't really had the inkling to dip myself in a pool of water. Anyway, like swimming, cooking is about relaxing yourself and following your instincts. I used to be afraid of cooking (can you believe?), preferring whisks and oven over frying pan and stove. But I think I'm gradually acclimatizing to the cooking scene. And I think noodles and pasta are a good place to start. 

My dad is a renowned cook amongst friends and family. His skills and passion for cooking were inherited from my grandma, who is also a renowned cook amongst her friends and family. Since migrating to this faraway land, we haven't had much opportunity to enjoy grandma's cooking. But my dad sort of makes up for it. It was through my dad's knack for cooking and his years of experimenting and skill-honing in vegetarian cuisine that I think, my family were so easily acclimatized (this word again, yes!) to eating vegetarian food. Of course throughout these years we still occasionally cook meat, though in a much smaller portion. But around three months ago, my dad turned full vegetarian. I of course eat whatever was on the table so vegetarian it is. And even when I eat out I order vegetarian food as I'm not used to eating meat. Although if I'm in a circumstance where I'm presented with meat, such as going to a friend's house and they cooked meat, I will eat it but try to eat less of it since it would be really troublesome for them to prepare something special or different for me. 

So, noodles! Everybody loves noodles don't they? I admit, I'm more of a rice gal though I won't say no to the occasional noodle. My dad, my sister and my boyfriend Peter love noodles. I swear they can live solely on noodles. My sister always has these random noodle cravings. Especially the Korean ones. Spicy and hot, with an egg cracked into it, slurp slurp slurp yum! And to be honest, noodles are so quick and easy to prepare (compared to a lot of other dishes). Today, we'll start with buckwheat or soba noodles. 

These noodles are really great as they already have a sweet, almost nutty flavour from the buckwheat flour. When you buy them from the supermarket it pays to check the ingredients as some of them have a high percentage in wheat flour rather than buckwheat. I prefer ones made just with buckwheat flour and water and do not contain other sorts of flavouring or additives. They're better for you! 

I cooked these soba noodles the non-traditional way and these are served hot rather than cold. For the vegetable pairings I used things I found in my fridge. The mushroom and chinese cabbage really adds that more complex, umami flavouring which goes well with the salty, weathered ocean taste from seaweed (I used a mixture of kombu and wakame). The carrots and celery lends sweetness and with a touch of sesame oil, the whole dish comes together in a nutty coating. Enjoy! I didn't use any animal products, so this dish is unintentionally vegan! And gluten free too for you celiacs out there!

[Buckwheat noodles with flat mushroom and seaweed]
Serves 5

A handful of buckwheat noodles. (The noodles came divided into portions tied with little ribbons. Use 3 portions. They will swell up a lot!)

1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped
5 medium to big sized flat mushrooms, cut into thick strips 
2 button mushrooms, cut into strips
4 leaves of chinese cabbage, cut into thick strips
half a carrot, julienned
1 stalk of celery, julienned
1 bowl (chinese rice bowl) of kombu and wakame, broken into small pieces
Water 
Sprig of parsley

Seasoning
Olive oil
Soy sauce
Salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of raw sugar (trust me, it helps)
Sesame oil

1. Fill up half a pot of water. Turn on the element for the water to boil.
2. Mean while, in another deep pan, drizzle in olive oil and wait for it to become hot. Add in the ginger and fry until lightly golden. Add the carrots and celery and stir for about a minute. Add in mushrooms and stir until it starts to brown (make sure to have enough oil in the pan or the mushrooms will stick). Add in the chinese cabbage and about a cup of water. Season with soy sauce (about 3 or 4 tablespoons - adjust it to your liking but remember the seaweed is slightly salty too). Cover to simmer. 
3. Once the chinese cabbage has softened (you want it nice and soft for the sweetness to shine), add in the kombu and wakame. Simmer until softened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the sugar. Turn off the heat and drizzle in about a tablespoon of sesame oil (you do this with the heat off as heat causes sesame oil to lose its flavour). 
4. Place the buckwheat noodles in the other pot of boiling water. It will take only a few minutes for it to cook. (Do not cover the pot with a lid, it will bubble out! Yea.. found that out the hard way lol). Once the buckwheat noodles are cooked, transfer them onto another pot or container with cold water. 
5. Place buckwheat noodles onto a serving dish. Pour the vegetables on top of the buckwheat noodles. Garnish with a sprig of parsley. Serve! 

There you go, easy. I think the key is to have your mise en place ready. Once you have everything chopped up, ready to go, it's easier to relax and enjoy the cooking process. I am by no means a good cook, in fact, I'm still a beginner! So if I can do it, you can too. Happy cooking!